Article highlights:
- Gut health plays a key role in heart, vascular, and metabolic health.
- Gut dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability are linked to inflammation and cardiometabolic disease.
- A fiber-rich diet, regular exercise, and healthy lifestyle habits support gut and cardiometabolic health.
When you think about heart, vascular, and metabolic health, the most common focus is on cholesterol numbers and statin treatment. This viewpoint stems from decades old research and practices. Cardiometabolic health though is much more than cholesterol numbers. Current research demonstrates how gut microbiome and intestinal permeability are linked to cardiometabolic health. To truly support long-term cardiometabolic health, it's essential to consider the health of the gut.
Cardiometabolic Disease
Cardiometabolic disease remains the top leading cause of death worldwide. High blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, stroke, heart failure, insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity as well as heart rhythm are increasing worldwide despite the global push for statins and lowering of cholesterol. It must be asked – what is missing?
Gut Dysbiosis Closely Associated with Cardiometabolic Disease
Recent discoveries in the last 20 years have shifted the research focus of cardiovascular disease from that of cholesterol numbers to the relationship of gut dysbiosis and the development and progression of atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic disease.
Research demonstrates that bacterial and fungal overgrowth of the gut biome is closely associated with the onset and progression of these diseases. Studies show that bacterial and fungal dysbiosis in the gut causes immune-inflammation and increased intestinal permeability leading to cardiometabolic disease.
Candida Overgrowth and Atherosclerosis
A 2024 report stated “In this study, we found that gut fungal dysbiosis occurs in the early stage of atherosclerosis, characterized by an expansion of C. albicans levels in patients with dyslipidemia compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, colonization of a mouse model of atherosclerosis with C. albicans aggravated disease progression, indicating that gut fungi dysbiosis can be a driving factor for atherosclerosis occurrence.” Adults with Candida dysbiosis had higher total cholesterol and LDL levels but no difference between HDL, triglycerides levels, age, and body mass index compared to other healthy adults.
“In conclusion, we show that expansion of C. albicans levels occurs in the early stage of atherosclerosis and that it aggravates this disease… In summary, our data unravel a significant role of the gut fungi and their metabolisms in the progression of disease.”
Damaging Effects
Gut dysbiosis from Candida was shown to cause cardiovascular damage and metabolic dysfunction by several mechanisms. Fungal overgrowth triggers systemic insulin resistance and enhances cholesterol absorption. It accelerates fatty liver build-up. It also disrupts the intestinal barrier, causing toxins to spill into the vascular system. This causes widespread inflammatory reactions, immune activation, glucose dysregulation, and adipose tissue inflammation that ultimately leads to cardiometabolic dysfunction.
Other findings show that gut dysbiosis and low beneficial bacteria diversity leads to increased production of proinflammatory compounds like LPS toxins and TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide). These compounds also correlate with atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.
Gut Microbiome and Short Chain Fatty Acids
The gut microbiome is affected by C-section versus vaginal delivery, breast feeding versus formula, and shifts with age, diet, lifestyle factors, exercise levels, chronic alcohol use, medications, stress, and numerous other factors.
A low-fiber, high-fat Western diet profoundly alters the gut microbiome compared to a high-fiber, lower-fat diet. A low-fiber, high-fat diet leads to reduced production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
Furthermore, SCFA levels decline with age and can be further diminished by physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, gut dysbiosis, and other lifestyle and environmental factors.
SCFAs are critical to maintain the gut mucosal barrier, repair of epithelial tissues, a healthy gut microbiome, immune-inflammation modulation, metabolic health, bile acid metabolism, and more.
Short fatty acids are post-biotics made by a healthy gut microbiome when probiotics chew on fiber-rich foods or prebiotics.
Modifiable Risk Factors
Key factors can greatly escalate cardiometabolic disease which leads to gut dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability. These include physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol, and consuming ultra-processed foods/ the Western diet.
Changing these modifiable factors can help prevent and reduce the progression of these diseases even with underlying genetic risk factors. This is important for all ages as even children and young adults experience obesity, high blood pressure, and earlier onset cardiometabolic disease.
Health can no longer be assumed and left to “whatever happens”. Consumption of the Western Diet, ultra-processed foods and other nutritionally restrictive diets, gluten, overconsumption of vegetable/seed oils, as well as depleted nutrient content from agricultural and transport practices, the amount of environmental toxins and burdens, stress hormones, medication use, sleep quality, and more directly impact your gut microbiome and deter from your overall health.
Health depends on daily personal choices and deliberate steps to support your overall health for a lifetime. Our website provides extensive education information that empowers you to make informed choices! Be in the know and be empowered for health!
Additional Resources
Repairing the Gut Barrier: Key Nutrients for Intestinal Integrity
How Stress, Diet, and Medications Disrupt Your Gut Health
Revitalize Your Gut: How Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Postbiotics Work Together
More Than a Probiotic: Why Synbiotics Matter
